Garment retainer



G. w. GRAY GARMENT RETAINER Filed Feb. 5, 1956 June 23, 1959 I INVENTORGENE WILLIAM GRAY ATTORNEYS United States Patent P r 2,891,705 Patented'June '23, 1959 GARMENT RETAINER Gene William Gray, Salt Lake City, UtahApplication February 3, 1956, Serial No. 563,216 7 Claims. c1. nag-s8The following description deals with an improvement i i-garmentretainers for hangers. The retainer is adapted to be'eombined with andto supplement the utility of the ordinary wire garment hanger, widelyused in the storage and transportation of garments.

The ordinary garment hanger of this type does not of itself providemeans for retaining the garments in the desired symmetrical position.For example, a coat or skirt will readily slip toward one end of thewire hanger and; lead to the garment being pulled out of shape orwrinkled. Such hangers also are used to support a folded pair oftrousers or other garment on the horizontal cross bar. As this has themaximum width of the hanger, the garment is apt to slip toward one end,unbalancing the hanger and causing the garment to be bunched and 93%??--;I have found that such a garment hanger can be greatly improved sothat the garment will be prevented from sliding toward one end orallowing any part to hang uns ipported; I do this by means of a retainerwhich is as l et eehed t the w s of the garment hanger y fingerpresspre; It may then be adjusted into the desired position. It willthen be of great help in preventing the garment i em lidi wa the e d ioresting pported by the garment hanger itself. Qne ot'the-objects of myinvention is to provide means tor holding the parts of the wire garmenthanger in nortr al spaced positions with adequate reinforcements at rinWh h cu toma ily supp r h wei h of he arme ts 7' An??? o ittt of he nvei to t n the c n m et esntrall r s me ri a l tm h an r n avoid 1ll F l991 9i ts s in o or ow d e of h ends A s ill ur h 9 l 9 th nv n n is o pi a taine whi h f ms a member n a p e at a rig angle to' the plane ofthe hanger itself.

Among the objects of the invention is the provision of hooks below thehorizontal crossbar in aplane at right angles to the vertical plane ofthe latter.

Furthermore, the improved retainer is designed for facility inattachment to the garment hanger and removal whenever it is desired toseparate the two; 7 Other objects of my invention will be readilyapparent from the following description of the preferred form of theinvention as illustrated on the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved garment retainer;

Fig. 2 is a transverse cross-section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the retainer in use on a garment hanger;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective showing a modified use of theretainer;

Fig. 5 shows in side elevation the mode of attaching the retainer andhanger and Fig. 6 is a similar view of the mode of disengagement of theparts.

The above objects of the invention are obtained by providing a readilyattachable retainer to the well known wire garment hanger. Such agarment hanger 8 is formed with a hook 9 by which it can be suspended.The side portions 10, 10 of the hanger slope downwardly and away fromthe hook. Their ends are connected by means of the crossbar 11. Thishanger is of course formed from a single piece of ductile wire. The endsare twisted together to form the hook 9.

It is well understood that the garment hanger as described has noprovision for preventing the garment from slipping to one side or evenover one of the side ends. As such hangers are made of a single ormaximum size, the full dimension is rarely used. On the contrary, someeffort must be made to center the garment and to prevent it fromslipping out of normal position. To carry out this purpose I haveprovided a retainer 12. This retainer is made of a plastic resin with aslight inherent resilience. Such articles can be readily molded into thedesired form. They retain their form and are clean and pleasing inappearance.

The retainer is made in the form of a thin sheet or web. This has abeaded edge 13 around its periphery, as clearly indicated in Fig. 1.-

One end of the retainer 12 is formed with an integral hook 14.

The retainer is provided with a longitudinal slot 15 near one side edge.This slot has a width suitable to receive the wire portions 10 and 11freely. The slot 15 also has a beaded edge 16 for improving the rigidityand appearance of the article.

A plurality of lateral recesses are provided substantially along thelongitudinal axis of the retainer. They are connected to the slot 15.The upper recess 17 is near the end of the retainer opposite the hook14. The lower recess 18 is similarly connected to the slot 15 at theopposite end thereof. This brings it near the end hook 14.-

An intermediate recess 19 is also provided in the retainer and connectedto the slot 15.

Each of the recesses'1 7, 18 and 19 are of a normal diameter slightlygreater than that of the wire of which the garment hanger is made.However, the necks of the recesses are restricted at the point wherethey merge into the slot 15. This restriction is sufiicient tobindagain'st the side of the wire of the garment hanger. V

However, the inherent resilience of the retainer is such that fingerpressure applied to the portions of the hanger Wire as shown in Fig. 5will be sufiicient to open up .these necks and permit the wire to fitwithin therecesses. Thereafter the necks will confine the wire withinthe recesses.

When desirable the wire portions can be released from the recesses byfinger pressure as shown in Fig. 6. Here the plastic material isdistorted sufiiciently topermit the wire to pass through the necks andinto the slot 15. The retainer may then be moved along the hanger enduntil it is entirely free.

The end recesses 17 and 18 are spaced to conform with the width betweenthe side portion 10 and the crossbar 11 at the point where it is desiredto attach the retainer. Once in position, the retainer is prevented bythe divergence of the members 10 and 11, from movement along the latter.

At the same time, due to the beaded edge 16 around the slot andrecesses, the retainer is maintained in a plane at right angle to thatof the garment hanger itself.

There may be instances where it is desired to attach the retainer at theextreme end of the hanger. In this case one of the end recesses will beused in combination with the intermediate recess.

Again where the hangers have closely parallel end portions, the retainercan be satisfactorily adjusted in 3 position using the intermediate andlower recesses. This is shown in Fig. 4.

The retainers may be provided in pairs, one pair to each hanger. Eachindividual retainer is slipped over an end of the hanger, the portionsand 11 being received in the slot 15. The retainer is moved inward untilthe wire portions are opposite the end recesses. The plastic is thengiven a slight bend or twist in its own plane to facilitate pressing theWire portions into the recesses. The retainer takes its position in arigid plane at right angle to the garment hanger as shown in Fig. 2.There it will restrain the shoulder portions of the garment fromslipping too far in either direction.

The retainer also forms a stop for a garment which may be folded andlaid upon the center portion of the crossbar 11.

The hooks 14 are also presented in a plane at right angle to the hangerthus making it very easy to attach a garment by means of a shoulderstrap, hem or the like.

The retainers maintain their positions during use. However, if thehanger is to be removed, discarded or returned as to a dry cleaningestablishment, then the retainers may be readily removed in the mannerabove described, so that they may then be used again with anotherhanger.

By way of example I have shown the invention in its preferred form.However, it will be possible to make changes in material, dimensions orproportions and other minor details without departing from the scope ofthe invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A garment retainer for attachment transversely to a wire garmenthanger, which consists of a flat strip of inherently resilient material,said strip having a longitudinal slot, one inner edge of the stripbordering the slot being transversely recessed at spaced points, saidslot and recesses being wider than the diameter of the hanger wire, andthe inner edges of the strip being formed into a narrow opening for eachrecessed part, said openings being resiliently enlargeable to permitpassage of the said wire into the recesses and normally confining it insaid recesses.

2. A garment retainer for attachment transversely to a wire garmenthanger, which consists of a flat strip of inherently resilient material,said strip having a longitudinal slot, one inner edge of the stripbordering the slot being transversely recessed at at least three pointsspaced to receive and hold two portions of the wire garment hanger, saidslot and recesses being Wider than the diameter of the hanger wire, andthe edge of the strip being formed into a narrow opening for eachrecessed part, said openings being resiliently enlargeable to permitpassage of the said wire into the recesses and normally confining it insaid recesses.

3. A garment retainer for attachment transversely to a wire garmenthanger, which consists of a flat strip of inherently resilient material,said strip having a longitudinal slot, one inner edge of the stripbordering the slot being transversely recessed at spaced points, theedge of the strip being formed into a narrow opening for each recessedpart, said slot and recesses being wider than the diameter of the hangerwire and the openings being resiliently enlargeable to permit passage ofthe said wire into the recesses and normally confining it in saidrecesses, and the said inner edge being formed with a continuousmarginal rib.

4. A garment retainer for attachment transversely to a wire garmenthanger, which consists of a flat strip of inherently resilient material,said strip having a slot adjacent and parallel to one side edge, theinner edge of the strip bordering the slot being transversely recessedat spaced points, said slot and recesses being wider than the diameterof the hanger wire and the edge of the strip being formed into a narrowopening for each recessed part, said openings being resilientlyenlargeable to permit passage of the said wire into the recesses andnormally confining it in said recesses.

5. A garment retainer for attachment transversely to a wire garmenthanger, which consists of a flat strip of inherently resilient material,said strip having a slot adjacent and parallel to one side edge, theinner edge of the strip bordering the slot being transversely recessedat spaced points, said slot and recesses being Wider than the diameterof the hanger wire and the inner edge of the strip being formed into anarrow opening for each recessed part, said openings being resilientlyenlargeable to permit passage of the said wire into the recesses andnormally confining it in said recesses, a marginal n'b on the striparound the slot and a peripheral rib around the strip.

6. A combined garment retainer and suspending device for attachmenttransversely to a wire garment hanger, which consists of a fiat strip ofinherently resilient material, said strip having a longitudinal slot,one inner edge of the strip bordering the slot being transverselyrecessed at spaced points, said slot and recesses being Wider than thediameter of the hanger wire, the inner edge of the strip being formedinto a narrow opening for each recessed part, said openings beingresiliently enlargeable to permit passage of the said wire into therecesses and normally confining it in said recesses, and a dependinghook on the strip below the slot.

7. A combined garment retainer and suspending device for attachmenttransversely to a wire garment hanger, which consists of a flat strip ofinherently resilient material, said strip having a longitudinal slot,one inner edge of the strip bordering the slot being transverselyrecessed at spaced points, said slot and recesses being Wider than thediameter of the hanger wire, the inner edge of the strip being formedinto a narrow opening for each recessed part, said openings beingresiliently enlargeable to permit passage of the said wire into therecesses and normally confining it in said recesses, and a dependinghook on the strip below the slot, said strip and hook having acontinuous peripheral rib.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,053,633 Raterman Sept. 8, 1936 2,386,059 Potoczky Oct. 2, 19452,695,120 Barosso Nov. 23, 1954

